Workforce Development

Community Health Workers

Advancing the Role of Community Health Workers: Engaging State Medicaid Offices to Develop State Plan Amendments Regarding the Preventative Services Rule Change
Prepared by the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Advancing the Role of Community Health Workers reviews the process by which states can amend their Medicaid state plans to include CHWs in preventative services delivery. The report offers key “take away” messages for stakeholders, including how to comprehensively define the services, providers, and settings eligible for Medicaid reimbursement. It also provides strategies for successful implementation of state plan amendments, including data collection, workforce development strategies, and ways to foster working relationships between CHWs and licensed providers. [pdf; NCHH, 2018]

Community Health Workers: Delivering Home-Based Asthma ServicesPrepared by the Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Community Health Workers: Delivering Home-Based Asthma Services shows how the inclusion of CHWs can reduce costs and improve health outcomes for home-based asthma services. It highlights the range of services CHWs can provide, such as home assessments, trigger-reduction education, referrals for environmental and social services, and self-management education. Case studies from successful asthma home-visiting programs that have used CHWs in New York, Minnesota, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts illustrate the partners, funding strategies, and health outcomes, and return on investment associated with these innovative programs. [pdf; NCHH, 2018]

State Community Health Worker Models
This Web page contains state specific information on community health workers (CHW) in six key areas: financing, education, certification, state CHW legislation, CHW organizations, and CHW roles in state. Additional, the page includes links to other resources such as State Innovation Model (SIM) narrative, State Plan Amendment (SPA), The Community Health Worker Act, and the Community Health Worker Association website for various states. (A video explaining how to use the map is coming soon from NCHH.) [url; National Academy for State Health Policy].

Change in the Rule on Essential Health BenefitsEffective January 1, 2014, a change in the federal Rule on Essential Health Benefits allows reimbursement for preventive services that are delivered by nonlicensed providers, as long as services have been recommended by a a physician or other licensed provider.

Essential Health Benefits and Community Health WorkersThis Web page contains resources related to the new Medicaid rule, including examples of successful strategies for preventive service delivery by nonlicensed providers, such as community health workers (CHWs), and other resources related to the adaptation, licensure, and support of CHWs. [url; Association of State and Territorial Health Officials]

Community Health Workers in the Wake of Health Care Reform: Considerations for State and Federal Policymakers
This brief, developed from an October 2015 meeting convened by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), captures some strategies and areas of agreement among state and federal policymakers on the issues on further integrating community health workers (CHW) into the health system. Areas covered include CHW roles, recruitment and retention, training, credentialing and financing. [pdf; National Academy for State Healthy Policy].

Community Health Worker Certification Standards
This document includes a map of the current status of state CHW certification standards, a chart illustrating what states have which program requirements/elements in their CHW law, and a chart outlining the summaries of each state’s CHW certification bill as of March 2015. Additional information and resources are available on the ASTHO CHW Web page. [pdf; ASTHO]

Success with CHWs: Asthma
Designed as an easy-to-use digital digest featuring research, case studies, tools, webinars and short videos, this website acquaints asthma care providers and home visiting programs with the role and value of community health worker (CHW) services. Geared for busy clinicians and administrators, these tools are intended to help providers and home visiting programs learn about the benefits of culturally appropriate CHW models and how to begin to integrate CHW approaches to improve management of childhood asthma, especially among underserved communities. [url; Minnesota Community Health Worker Alliance]

A Summary of State Community Health Worker Laws
To understand how states are using law as a tool to develop sustainable CHW programs, this fact sheet summarizes the extent to which states have enacted laws addressing CHW infrastructure, professional identity, workforce development, and financing. This fact sheet presents a summary of laws in effect as of December 2012. [pdf; CDC]

Training and Workforce Development

National Healthy Homes Training Center and NetworkThis Web page contains resources related to healthy homes training. The Healthy Homes Training Center provides courses for public health and housing professionals on the basics of healthy homes and on more specialized topics, such as integrated pest management, or for targeted audiences, such as community health workers (CHW). [url; Healthy Housing Solutions]

Reducing Environmental Triggers in the HomeThis online training was developed by the Minnesota Department of Health for public health nurses, asthma educators, and other health professionals interested in learning more about environmental asthma triggers commonly found in the home environment. This free training provides an introduction to common environmental asthma triggers, describes simple ways of assessing a home for environmental asthma triggers, and offers some suggestions for how to reduce or eliminate exposure to those triggers. A certificate of completion is available. [url; Minnesota Department of Health]

Environmental Management of Pediatric Asthma: Guidelines for Healthcare Providers
These guidelines are aimed at integrating environmental management of asthma into pediatric healthcare. Guidelines and training materials outline competencies in environmental health relevant to pediatric asthma that should be mastered by healthcare providers and outlines the environmental interventions that should be communicated to patients. [url; National Environmental Education Foundation]

Healthy Homes Specialist Credential
The Healthy Homes Specialist (HHS) credential is designed for health and housing professionals in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. To achieve the credential, individuals must complete a comprehensive exam on the seven principles of healthy housing, which include keeping homes Dry, Clean, Pest-Free, Contaminant-Free, Ventilated, Safe, and Maintained. [url; NCHH]